"I can stop by tomorrow and we can finish the dance practice!"
Ino simply nodded as she sat on the bed and slowly got under the covers, avoiding the piercing look Gaara was giving the two of them. She felt the back of her neck become warm, her palms turning sweaty, as she wondered what Gaara was thinking at the moment.
Lee grabbed his items and exited the room, neither he or Gaara bothering to give each other a glance. Ino watched as the tension in the room increased the moment Lee passed by him, and she hoped that neither of them would get into some type of fist match.
With her dance partner now gone, the room became quiet once again. Wanting to break the awkward tension, Ino wondered what to say first. And by analyzing his stern yet stoic look, she knew that she had to choose her next words carefully.
"Hey! So… How was work?"
He didn't respond to her, not right away at least. Teal green eyes analyzed her face as he stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest while leaning against the wall.
"...Fine,"
Ino exhaled, not realizing that she had been holding her breath in anticipation. Nonetheless, his response didn't mean that he was happy; his facial expression and tone gave that hint pretty clear to her.
"Do you want to sit down?"
His response was sitting down on the chair next to her bed, yet his gaze stayed elsewhere as he kept his arms crossed in front of his chest. He didn't have to say anything; Ino knew that he was angry. She could see the tenseness in his body.
"OK OK… I know you're mad! You and Lee don't like each other but it's not what it looked like! We were just practicing for Sakura's wedding. He is my dance partner…"
Ino watched him carefully, noticing how his eyes narrowed a bit at the part of Lee being her dance partner. She remembered that Gaara was someone who wasn't always great with telling people how he felt. Heck, she remembered how he couldn't even form his words when she told him about her feelings for him almost a month ago.
Sighing, Ino touched his arm, giving him a tug so he would turn his head towards her.
"Look, I'm sorry you had to see that, OK? Yes, it looked very inappropriate, but I swear nothing happened. Lee was just teaching me the dances for Sakura's wedding and one of them is...provocative. Her wedding is in almost two months and you know that I've been behind with...well...everything! I'm supposed to be her maid of honor and instead of actively helping her, I'm re-learning how to walk without falling down! And-"
"...Ino,"
She stopped her blabbering as Gaara grabbed her hand.
"...It's fine… I didn't want to let my anger get the best of me… But seeing you on top of him, like that...made me want to lose control,"
"I'm sorry you had to see that. Why don't you stay with me next time there's practice? Would that make you feel better?"
"Possibly," he replied, and she smiled.
"Good! Hey, maybe you can learn some dance moves as well!"
The corner of his lips twitched, "I don't dance…"
"Not even for me?"
He watched as she pouted her lips and sighed. "...I'll dance only for you…"
Her lips curled into a smile as she layed back down on the bed. "Good! I think-"
Her words were interrupted as his phone vibrated. Ino watched as he looked at the screen before quickly disconnecting the call and putting his phone away. The look on his face gave her the notion that he wasn't fond of who just decided to contact him.
"Who was it?"
"My father," he said in a monotone voice.
"You can pick it up, if you want. I'm sure it's important."
"It's nothing. He just wants to invite me over for dinner,"
"Oh! That sounds nice. I can't remember the time either of my parents invited me for dinner. If you need to leave now for dinner, that's fine,"
Gaara shook his head. "No, it's fine. I rather stay here,"
By the tone of his voice, Ino knew that Gaara's decision was more than just wanting to stay the evening with her. She was aware of the rumors told to her about Gaara and his father not having a close relationship. At that time, she didn't have enough courage to ask him why. But now that they were dating, it was something she could start poking into.
"Gaara, is everything OK with your father?"
He raised a light eyebrow at her, as if confused about her question. However, deep down she knew that he knew what she was referring to.
"I mean, are you and your dad on speaking terms? I ask because...well...you barely mention him. I know Temari talks about him…"
"...I never had a good relationship with my father. And after my mother died, things got worse between us,"
Ino watched as he closed his eyes. There was a silence for some time, and she originally wondered if he was going to say anything at all. Maybe his fallout with his father was that bad that he didn't want to talk about it-
"My mother was an alcoholic. The constant fighting and emotional distress led her to start drinking. As a kid, I never paid attention to her drinking because she was good at hiding it. She always smiled at me, acted happy around me. One night, they were arguing… I couldn't sleep and went over to their room. My dad got angrier, said some things… And my mom went for a drive with me in the middle of the night to get away. I was too busy staring at our neighborhood to realize that she had been drinking behind the wheel. By the time I did, it was too late…"
There was a brief silence, and Ino shifted on her bed as her heart pounded nervously. She didn't need Gaara telling her what happened next; she could tell by the tone of his voice. Even though this happened over ten years ago, it felt as if it was just yesterday. His gaze was on the floor, and she gently placed her hand on his.
"I don't remember much after that. I knew the car had crashed. I remembered waking up at the hospital, and my father was there talking to the doctor. Aside from a broken arm and concussion, I was mostly fine. My father didn't tell me that my mother had died until a week later… And that's when his abuse started…"
Ino stood up from the bed and walked over to him. Bending down, she cupped his face and gently lifted it, his glassy teal eyes looking back at her.
"She is the reason why I got this tattoo," Gaara said, "My mother had the same tattoo. I wanted to continue remembering her..."
His statement brought her back to the day she had insulted it, and her face suddenly became teary as well. He studied her reaction as well, and before she opened her mouth, Gaara grabbed her waist and pulled her onto her lap.
"Gaara, I am so sorry! I am so sorry for the things I said to you! I am so sorry!"
Ino wrapped her arms around his neck as he returned her hug, rubbing her back as he buried his face on the crook of her neck.
"It's OK, you didn't know. I'm sorry for grabbing you that day…" He kissed her neck as he continued, "My father grabbed my mother the same way whenever he would get angry...and I don't want to become that same type of man, especially for you,"
She kissed his forehead before pulling her head back and staring into his eyes, giving him a warm smile. "It's OK, Gaara. The fact that you are aware of your own actions already separates you from the type of man that your father is."
Gaara kissed her lips softly, whispering between pecks. "You are an amazing woman," he said, "Every day I regret not acting sooner and being with you. The day you were attacked, I was looking for you..."
Ino nodded, remembering his text and waiting for him. That day that would forever be engraved in her memory.
"...That day, I wanted to tell you that, aside from apologizing, I...also felt the same way about you… that I've had feelings for you for months now and how much of an idiot I was for not telling you how I truly felt that day...and I'm still an idiot even if you're mine now. I almost permanently lost you."
It was her turn to kiss him, and Gaara kissed her back passionately. They may not have had the most romantic beginning - everything had been filled with jealousy and miscommunication. But they were willing to give it their all as their heart rates rhythmed synchronously, allowing the love for each other to take over.
They didn't know for how long their make out session lasted, but knew that visiting hours were over soon as they sensed the presence of the head nurse by the doorway.
"I swear, these two can never get enough of each other," the woman grunted with a shake of her head.
Three weeks later…
Today was the day she was coming back to the apartment. Although she had been discharged two weeks ago, she had stayed with her mother during that time; and even though Gaara missed her presence terribly, he understood why she wanted to stay there first. Considering she was still healing, she needed some at-home care and her mother was mostly home to provide. Nonetheless, today was the day Ino decided to return to the apartment after over a month of absence. To say Gaara was excited about it was an understatement. The red-haired man had been so thrilled with the news that he had reached out to Naruto, Kankuro, Shikamaru, and Neji for some help with ensuring that the apartment was up to standards.
All five males, including Kiba, who didn't want to be left out, arrived early to the apartment, ready to take on some physical labor.
"Alright, so how should we do this?" Kiba asked.
"I take the living room!" Kankuro yelled, "It's the easiest to clean,"
"Neji, Kiba, and I can share the kitchen." Shikamaru said.
"Oi, what do I do then?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head confusingly.
"You can clean the bathroom," Gaara said. "I'll go buy some groceries and restock the fridge. Thank you, all."
"Tch, no worries! Now go! Ino should be coming here in two hours,"
Gaara nodded as Shikamaru closed the door behind him. The lazy genius then turned around and sighed at everyone else.
"Alright, now that lover boy is gone, let's get to work."
The males separated to the different areas of the apartment, each putting on rubber gloves. Naruto, in the meantime, walked over towards the bathroom and frowned. Although he had seen the cleaning products before whenever he would go shopping with Hinata, he never bothered asking what they did...or how to use them.
There was a blue bottle with the word Clorox in front, followed by a picture of a white shiny toilet. Grabbing the bottle, he opened it up and poured it down the toilet bowl.
"Hm, how much of this am I supposed to add? Oi, Shikamaru, what do I do after this?"
The brown-haired man stepped inside the bathroom and frowned upon seeing the large amount of blue liquid inside the toilet bowl.
"Naruto, did you just pour the whole thing inside?"
"Yeah! Isn't that what we're supposed to do?"
Shikamaru gave him a 'you're kidding me, right' look. "Naruto, please tell me you know what the heck you're supposed to be doing…"
"Hah, he probably doesn't!" yelled Kiba from the kitchen.
"Naruto, how the hell did you grow up not knowing how to clean a toilet?" Kankuro asked with a vacuum in hand.
"Hinata has spoiled him…" Neji replied as he cleaned the top of the stove.
The blond man pouted, "...But she says that she prefers me not to clean at all…"
"I can see why…" muttered Shikamaru, "Alright, Naruto. This is what you're going to do. Grab that toilet wand and scrub the toilet. Thanks to you, I'm pretty sure that any bacteria that was in there is probably all dead… Just scrub the toilet and when you're done, call me so I can tell you what to do next."
The blond man nodded and began working as Shikamaru went back to the kitchen. As soon as he was finished with the toilet, his friend had him clean the bathroom sink and shower, followed by the floor.
"Gaara owes me a large bowl of ramen for this," he said as he cleaned the mirror.
The men cleaned for another forty minutes as the red-haired man arrived at the apartment with several items in hand.
Gaara's head lifted sharply as the sudden smell hit his nostrils. "What...is that smell?"
"Naruto poured the whole bottle Clorox down the toilet," Shikamaru replied.
"...Why does that not surprise me," Gaara muttered as he placed the food inside the fridge.
Aside from the strong bleach smell coming from the bathroom, the apartment was spotless. Although it had not been filthy initially, Gaara wanted to make sure that Ino would be coming back to something that was up to her standards. He remembered how every weekend, she would dedicate one hour to ensure that their apartment was spotless. And as a thank you to his friends, Gaara took the men out for ramen. He paid for their meals and left quickly, wanting to get home before Ino's arrival.
"Well, he's sure in a hurry," Kiba said, "But at least he paid for food!"
"Well considering today is the first day Ino's coming back to their place, who can blame him." Shikamaru said.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure he's really excited for her arrival. He tried hiding it but I saw that box of condoms in his hand!" Naruto said before turning to Kankuro, "Oi, you should tell your brother that he's not as discreet as he thinks he is!"
"Leave him be, he's in love for the first time," Kankuro replied, feeling like a proud older brother.
Ino stared at the building as her father parked the car in front. Her blue eyes stared at the floor which located her apartment, excited to finally be going to her room.
"Aw, look who's waiting for you!" her father said, giving her a wink that caused her to roll her eyes.
"Dad, we're all adults here. Calm down…"
The man laughed as he exited the car and opened the trunk, pulling out her duffel bag. In the meantime, she exited the car and felt her face flush as Gaara walked over to her. He glanced at her father from the corner of his eyes as Inoichi stared back at him, and Ino couldn't help but laugh.
"Alrighty then… Thanks for dropping me off, dad! I'll give you a call tonight!"
"I can take this," Gaara said, grabbing the duffel bag and placing it over his shoulder.
Her father said his goodbyes while reentering his vehicle and driving away.
Grabbing her hand with his free one, Gaara led her inside the building. He watched her as she took slow steps towards the second floor. He could see her excitement as they stood in front of the apartment door. Unlocking it, he opened it and allowed her to enter first. She walked towards the kitchen and took a deep breath, only to stop suddenly and turn around towards him.
"What is that smell?"
"Clorox…"
"Why does our apartment smell like Clorox?"
"...Naruto cleaned the bathroom…"
"Well, that's something I never expected. But at least I'm finally here! Now come here and kiss me!"
Chuckling at her, Gaara cupped her face and gave her a long kiss. Their brief kiss turned into a makeout session, but not like any of the ones from before. With his hands on her hips, Ino placed hers on his abdomen before trailing them up his body. She could recall the number of times she had thought about touching him, especially after he would come back from the gym. Feeling bold, her hand traveled downwards...more down than she had realized as Gaara's hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her action.
"...As much I want you right now, I don't think we're ready yet…" he said, although everything in his mind at the moment consisted of dragging her towards his room and letting their raw instinct take over.
"You're right…" she whispered in trembling breaths, thinking about the unattractive scar on her chest from the injury and multiple surgeries. She didn't want Gaara seeing any of that.
She would wear a bedsheet around if she had to until the day her large scar went away.
Author's note: Thank you all for reading! Special thanks to those who left reviews on the last chapter! In case you don't know what Clorox is, it's a company that sells cleaning products. One of their products actually gives me headache, so whenever it's used around me, I run away haha.
Let me know what you thought & please leave a review!